Needle assembly for a tufting machine

ABSTRACT

A needle assembly for a tufting machine, designed to supply a selected one of a number of yarns which may be of different colors, to a hollow needle during each stroke thereof, and insert the resulting colored tufts with a backing fabric. The needle is associated with a feed tube having a number of yarn entry tubes, and yarn can be fed from each entry tube into the feed tube, cut off, and blown down to the needle. A ram holds the yarn in the needle during a stroke thereof.

U 1 Unlted States Patent 1 1 3,595,185

3,387,577 6/1968 Spanel etal. 112/79 3,389,667 6/l968 Mueller 112/80 x Norman Ian Buckley, 1, Wllworth FOREGN PATENTS Crescent; Alan Fkh. 9 Feniscliffe Drive, all 1 Q of Blackburn, England 6,603,650 9/1966 Netherlands 112/79 211 App]. No. 790,527 6,614,793 4/1967 Netherlands 112/79 1969 Primary Examiner-James R. Boler [45] Paemed July 971 At1orney.lacob L. Kollin 6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[22] Filed [54] NEEDLE ASSEMBLY FOR A TUFTING MACHINE yarns which may be of different colors, to a hollow needle during each stroke thereof, and insert the resulting colored tufts with a backing fabric. The needle is associated with a feed tube having a number of yarn entry tubes, and yarn can be fed from each entry tube into the feed tube, cut off, and blown down to the needle. A ram holds the yarn in the needle during a stroke thereof.

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PATENTEU Jum 1971 SHEET 2 BF 2 FIG-6.

NEEDLE ASSEMBLY FOR A TUFTING MACHINE Our invention relates to a needle assembly and method for producing a textile fabric composed of tufts of yarn fixed to a base material. More particularly, our invention is concerned with the production of a tufted carpet which may be single color sculptured i.e. having tufts of varying height, or colored with a multicolored pattern, or both.

The method of applying the tufting material to the base fabric consists in supplying a yarn to a roller which is rotated by a ratchet. The mechanism of the apparatus is devised so that on operation of the ratchet by power means, which operation is under control of a pattern of known type which does not form part of the present invention, a predeterminedlcngth of yarn is advanced by rotation of the roller, and the length of yarn is cutoff. This length of yarn may be constant, or it may be variable in dependence upon the operation of the ratchet mechanism, which is controlled by the pattern. The cutoff length of yarn is pushed into a feed tube; one end ofthe tube is connected to a source of compressed air and the other end of the tube is located in contact with a hollow needle. After the length of yarn hasbeen cut and lodged in the tube, a puff of air is applied to the tube which causes the cutoff piece of yarn to descend to the needle.

In producing a sculptured effect carpet, more than one length of tuft is required. One form of our invention employs two tuft lengths, though three lengths mayalso be employed. The length of each tuft is determined by the pattern, which determines the length of each tuft cut and applied to the base fabric during each single cycle of the machine. In manufacturing a carpet, a large number of yarn supplying mechanisms and tubes are required, the tubes being spaced across the width of the base fabric.

Several yarn-supplying mechanisms may be connected to a single feed tube, each yarn feed mechanism being devised to eject a single predetermined length of yarn; thus one mechanism ejects short lengths, another medium lengths and a third long lengths..The mechanism to be actuated during any particular cycle of the machine is determined by the pattern and its signal computer. Alternatively the tufts may be of uniform length, and ofdifferent colors.

Where a carpet has to be made in color, a number of yarnsupplying mechanisms equal in number to the number of colors to be applied are connected to a single feed tube, which may be branched, and during each cycle of the machine operation, one of the mechanisms is selected under control of a pattern, and yarn from this particular mechanism only is supplied to the feed tube and thence applied to the backing fabric.

Reference should now be made to the accompanying drawings which shows a form of needle assembly according to our invention. A tufting machine comprises a plurality of such needle assemblies and a pattern mechanism which can be of known form and therefore will not be described.

F IG. 1 shows the needle assembly;

FlG. 2 shows a tuft on the way down one of the branches and being blown in position in the needle;

FIG. 3 shows the tuft about to enter the needle;

H6. 4 shows the tuft being pushed into the needle by means of the ram;

FIG. 5 shows the descent of the needle together with the tuft and the ram, the needle piercing the backing fabric;

FIG. 6 shows the ascent of the needle, leaving the ram and the tuft in position and FIG. 7 shows the ascent of the ram leaving the tuft in the backing fabric.

A needle assembly is shown in FIG. 1. This consists ofa needle bar 1 which is oscillated with reference to a base fabric 22 by means of a hollow link 23 sliding in a bearing 5, and a connecting rod 24. 'The connecting rod 24 is oscillated by means of an eccentric cam 10, though of course this could be a suitably shaped cam and roller mechanism if required.

The needle bar carries a plurality of hollow needles 21, there being a required number of needles across the width of the machine. Each needle oscillates up and down during the operation of the machine and pierces the fabric, as will be described later. t i

Each needle is associated with a fixed feed tube having two branches 2, 3, although only one branch may be used, depending on the number of different types of-yarn or-colors of yarn to be supplied to the needle. The drawing shows the possibility of supplying eight different colors or tuft lengths. Each branch of the feed tube contains a number of enlargements 6', and opposite each enlargement is a yarn entry guide tube 25 with a cutter or knife 18 between the entry tube and the branch 2 or 3. The knives are fitted to common carrying bars 14 which are operated from an eccentric or cam 9. This eccentric operates all the bars simultaneously.

Each entry tube is supplied with yarn 16 by means of feed rollers 15. These rollers are controlled as regards their time and extent of movement by the pattern mechanism; the rollers can only rotate when the knives have been raised.

At the juncture of the pair of branches of the feed tube there is a hole in which a ram 26 slides. The ram is carried on a rod 7 which is also oscillated at appropriate times by means of an eccentric 8, which acts on all the 9 cams simultaneously. The operation of the needle assembly will be described in detail later.

The top end of each branch of the feed tube carries an air valve 13, this valve being actuated by a solenoid 12, with an entry for compressed air 11. The circuit of each solenoid includes contacts 19 operated by the cutter bar, and also further contacts 20, all the contacts associated with one branch of the feed tube being connected in parallel so that when a piece of yarn is injected by the mechanism into one side of the feed tube, the solenoid for this particular side is subsequently energized.

The yarns supplied to the various entry tubes may be all of different colors, and all the delivery rollers may be set to deliver the same length of yarn, so that a carpet is then made with a level pile with a colored pattern. Alternatively various lengths of tufts may be supplied, all ofthe same color, in which case a sculptured patterned carpet is produced. Still further, some of the yarns may be of different colors, and some of them may be of different lengths, in which case a colored sculptured pattern is produced. The method of selection of the colors to be used or the lengths to be cut is well known and is determined by the pattern mechanism which will not herein be described or claims. All the eccentrics 8, 9 and 10 are fixed to and driven by a common shaft 29.

ln the operation of the machineythe first position is as shown in the drawings. The steps of operation are as follows; for each needle of the machine a. The knife carriage 14 and the associated knives 18 are raised so as to open the entries of the delivery tubes into the branches 2, 3.

b. One of the pairs of delivery rollers 15 is energized under control of the pattern to deliver a length of yarn 17 into the enlargement of the feed tube opposite it.

c. The knife mechanism descends and cuts off the length of yarn to form a tuft.

d. The solenoid associated with the particular feed tube branch in which the tuft is lodged is momentarily energized via contacts 19 and 20, opening the valve 13 and providing a puff of compressed air which blows the tuft 17 into the entry of the needle 21.

e. Ram 26 is pressed downwards by its bar 7 so as to inject the tuft fully into the needle 21.

f. The needle bar 1 and needle 21 descend, accompanied by ram 26, the needle passing through the backing fabric to such an extent as to leave the upper end of the selected tuft in the needle, just above the upper surface of the backing fabric as shown in the figure.

g. The needle bar and needle retract, but the ram 26 stays in position, thus holding the tuft of yarn in the backing fabric.

h. The ram ascends, leaving the tuft placed in the backing fabric.

As the actual hold of the fabric on the tufts is very fragile, the upper ends of the tufts on the backing are sprayed with an adhesive such as a latex rubber solution as soon as possible after tuft insertion; the material is then dried, whereupon the tufts are fixed firmly in position.

Although our invention has been described in connection with a branched feed tube and eight different supplies of yarn, it is obvious that it could operate quite successfully with a branched tube with a lesser number of yarn inlets, or with a single tube having any required number of yarn entries. it is also clear that any combination of colors or tuft lengths can be supplied, depending on the kind of pattern used and the kind of control for the feed rollers which accompanies the pattern. Such means for control of tuft lengths or tuft color selection are well known and form no part of the present invention.

We claim:

1. In a tufting machine a needle assembly comprising a hollow needle and means for reciprocating it through a backing fabric, a stationary feed tube one end of which is associated with said needle, a plurality of yarn entry tubes connected to said feed tube, a supply of yarn to each said entry tube, a cutter between each said entry tube and said feed tube means for actuating said cutters, a valve and a supply of compressed air at the end of said feed tube remote from said needle, a solenoid and contacts therefor operating said valve to blow a cutoff tuft of yarn down said feed tube, and a ram and actuating means therefor to push said tuft into said needle and hold it there during the time said needle pierces said backing fabric.

2. A needle assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said feed tube is of Y-form with two branches, each branch having a plurality of said entry tubes and said cutters, said ram entering said feed tube at the fork of the Y.

3. A needle assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said I feed tube has an enlargement opposite each said entry tube,

the yarn from any selected entry tube passing into said enlargement before being cutoff to form a tuft.

4. A tufting machine with a plurality of needle assemblies as claimed in claim 3 comprising a common needle bar for all said needles, means for actuating all said cutters simultaneously, and means for actuating all said rams simultaneously.

5. A tufting machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein said actuating means for said needles, cutters and rams are eccentrics, with a common drive shaft for said eccentrics.

6. A needle assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein said entry tube is provided with a contact operated by the said yarn feed mechanism, said contacts on one side of the Y being connected in parallel with one another a cutter carrier operated contact in series with said parallel contacts, and a connection from said contacts to energize said solenoid associated with the branch of said feed tube in which a yarn tuft is delivered to said needle by blowing. 

1. In a tufting machine a needle assembly comprising a hollow needle and means for reciprocating it through a backing fabric, a stationary feed tube one end of which is associated with said needle, a plurality of yarn entry tubes connected to said feed tube, a supply of yarn to each said entry tube, a cutter between each said entry tube and said feed tube means for actuating said cutters, a valve and a supply of compressed air at the end of said feed tube remote from said needle, a solenoid and contacts therefor operating said valve to blow a cutoff tuft of yarn down said feed tube, and a ram and actuating means therefor to push said tuft into said needle and hold it there during the time said needle pierces said backing fabric.
 2. A needle assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said feed tube is of Y-form with two branches, each branch having a plurality of said entry tubes and said cutters, said ram entering said feed tube at the fork of the Y.
 3. A needle assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said feed tube has an enlargement opposite each said entry tube, the yarn from any selected entry tube passing into said enlargement before being cutoff to form a tuft.
 4. A tufting machine with a plurality of needle assemblies as claimed in claim 3 comprising a common needle bar for all said needles, means for actuating all said cutters simultaneously, and means for actuating all said rams simultaneously.
 5. A tufting machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein said actuating means for said needles, cutters and rams are eccentrics, with a common drive shaft for said eccentrics.
 6. A needle assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein said entry tube is provided with a contact operated by the said yarn feed mechanism, said contacts on one side of the Y being connected in parallel with one another a cutter carrier operated contact in series with said parallel contacts, and a connection from said contacts to energize saiD solenoid associated with the branch of said feed tube in which a yarn tuft is delivered to said needle by blowing. 